posted
I've been on a white sugar free, dairy free, gluten free diet now for almost 2 months.
Just lots of veggies, meats, nuts,seeds, some rice,etc.
I've only gotten worse as a result though I've never eaten so healthy in my life.
Prior to changing my diet I ate out for almost every meal because of my work schedule.
Lots of all you can eat joints
Is is normal that you feel worse in the beginning as if the body might be detoxing or trying to regulate itself?
I was also taking some Aloe Vera drink someone gave me and broke out with little red dots all over-Petechiae
I'm tempted to try some bad stuff just to test if I feel better afterwards.
Posts: 128 | From California | Registered: Apr 2012
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- I know you have not yet started on antibiotics and won't be doing so for a couple months - so I assume you do not have systemic out of control candida. (?)
Other than the Aloe Vera (which I'm sure you won't try again as it's obviously not a good match for your body or it had additives, etc.)
. . . is one of the supplements you've just started perhaps causing symptoms? Some can, especially if you start several at once at the full dose.
You could be withdrawing from food additives. I thought they were not used so much in Europe, though? Do they? MSG withdrawal can be brutal. And MSG here hides under many different names
Withdrawing from simple sugars can also throw your body into a tail spin. Withdrawal there is nothing to sneeze at. I think it takes at least 21 days to stabilize.
Good for you, going gluten-free. A good move but don't neglect the good grains, either. Some say you should never eat grains and I strongly disagree.
I tried that no grains approach and it nearly killed me from fainting. I felt awful all the time. Veggies, alone, digest to fast and need the longer lasting carbs from grains to help stabilize blood glucose.
Even diabetics are now instructed that black rice is an excellent side dish as long as veggies are still king.
Sounds like possible low blood sugar, too. You may need more (gluten free) whole grains such as
Rices: black; red; wild are best - brown is okay but less often, less amount.
Millet; Quinoa (regular, black, red)
Amaranth; Whole Buckwheat Groats.
FRUIT? As you have not yet begun antibiotics, there is no reason to avoid fruit as it has fabulous nutrients. The darker berries and cherries are lower glycemic index but a wide range of veggies and fruits in all colors is vital. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Just before you are to start antibiotics, you may need to revisit the whole grains and opt for the most sturdy. WILD rice & the darker QUINOAs are best.
Also before you start antibiotics, be sure to get PROBIOTICS in place if you've not already done that. Any day now is good for probiotics.
As your LLMD practices somewhat holistically (from what I seem to recall) ask about an antifungal herb to start long before you start the antibiotics so that is in place.
Olive Leaf Extract is just one. Over here, Seagate brand is the best. They are not all top quality.
Hope your LLMD can answer questions you have along the way. Also be sure he knows as one of the supplements may need to be changed now. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Another consideration: It may not be the diet so much as just the way lyme is - no day is a walk in the park.
And since you are having to wait for assertive treatment, remember that the infection itself (or others, too) can still make you feel ill.
Just because you know what is going on and you are doing the best you can does not mean that it's a picnic. I'd say it's reasonable to expect that you will feel ill for some time to come.
Sorry. But that realization can help put it all into perspective. And it will get somewhat worse at times but - over time - you can feel better.
Just hold on. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- One more note and I'm done high-jacking the thread.
You say: "I'm tempted to try some bad stuff just to test if I feel better afterwards." (end quote)
Oh, now, why in the world try BAD stuff when there is so much GOOD stuff to try?
I thought your LLMD gave you support supplements? If they are not helping, communicate with him.
Are you taking GOOD liver support? GOOD adrenal support, etc.
Go for the GOOD stuff. If your LLMD is not up to speed with all that, you might also consider a LL ND. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
Yes. It is not uncommon at all for detoxification and healing to happen when you change your diet for the better. Google "healing crisis" or "healing reaction" and it talks about that.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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posted
I was on the same diet as you for most of my treatment. (almost 2 years). I just went gluten free low fat vegan and it has made a huge difference for me. I am not enjoying food very much these days!
I am too skinny as it is but it has helped, so I'll put up with skinny. The first night I didn't have meat I noticed a difference. Kind of a big difference, I was like nooooo! I didn't really want to go vegan, but I'll do whatever it takes.
Posts: 845 | From Northeast | Registered: May 2011
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- I was vegetarian for 18 years but I felt much better when I started eating fish and meat again. Much better. But only if from organic sources, Wild salmon or grass-fed, free range meats (same for eggs).
Still, some do well without meat while others may require it. Proteins from vegetables and grains (such as quinoa) are still important for every diet. At least in the US, the emphasis has been on way too much meat for way too long. Better less from excellent sources.
It's an individual choice, however, for those who don't consume meat:
supplement with CLA, TAURINE and B-12. Taurine is so important and mostly found in meat. It's essential for our eyes and nerve fibers. Detail here about all three of those:
THE REQUIREMENTS OF PROTEIN & AMINO ACID DURING ACUTE & CHRONIC INFECTIONS
Indian J Med Res 124, August 2006, pp 129-148
- by Anura V. Kurpad
Fifteen pages of text.
Excerpt from abstract on page one:
. . . In general, the amount of extra protein that would appear to be needed is of the order of 20-25 per cent of the recommended intake, for most infections. . . .
[note: see what author states about lysine supplementation appearing to help immune function.] -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
Eating healthy is good for your immune system, and the healthier your immune system is, the better it is able to kill lyme and co's. What you're feeling is probably the effects of dead and dying invaders releasing toxins. So it's a good thing!
Posts: 161 | From vancouver island | Registered: Feb 2012
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posted
And protein is important - people with infections need much more of it than healthy people. My LLND has me using protein smoothies to supplement my protein intake.
Posts: 161 | From vancouver island | Registered: Feb 2012
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posted
Also - now I'm hijacking the threat - if you don't eat meat, you have to be very sure to supplement B12 - injections are best.
Posts: 161 | From vancouver island | Registered: Feb 2012
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map1131
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2022
posted
Welcome to the lyme world. It seems anything and everything that changes this bacteria(s) world throws many into a herx aka a healing crisis.
They get pretty ticked off when you change their world. I remember 7 years ago having the absolute worst herx from he!!, trying to doing a 7 day cleanse.
On day 2-3 of no food(supps and liquids only)I went into a healing crisis so bad I thought I could only be dying. To this day if I do something good for my body they try to fight it.
A voodoo doctor told me many years ago this bacteria in my body was the most intelligent bacteria he'd ever tried to deal with in a patient. Voodoo (not to me) this doc got it right.
Pam
-------------------- "Never, never, never, never, never give up" Winston Churchill Posts: 6478 | From Louisville, Ky | Registered: Jan 2002
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Catgirl
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 31149
posted
RC1, I thought fat was good for lyme patients, no?
-------------------- --Keep an open mind about everything. Also, remember to visit ACTIVISM (we can change things together). Posts: 5418 | From earth | Registered: Mar 2011
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posted
Catgirl, I went on the MacDougal diet because I suspected the Fry Bug might be a player. The theory behind low fat and the Fry bug is that the organism needs fat to build it's biofilms, take away the fat and the biofilms thin and your immune system and antibiotics can kill the Protozoa.
I don't know for sure that I have the Fry bug because I was never tested for it. All I know is that this diet is making me feel a lot better.
I told my LLMD what I have been up to with my diet, and I told him that I wasn't very happy about the fact that it's working. He told me to watch "Forks Over Knives" and I might feel differently about going vegan.
I did watch it, it was very interesting. It did make me feel better about being vegan. But it didn't change the fact that I love meat! And fat!
Posts: 845 | From Northeast | Registered: May 2011
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- FL1953 aside, and the fact that each of us may need different food sources,
my brain (after many years of seizures) does so much better with a good amount of fat. I'm no longer going to qualify that as "good" fat as I just can't believe anyone now would touch the "bad" ones.
Fish oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, etc. are essential at helping the myelin sheath. More detail, just search:
Terry Wahls, MD - her TED talks and her book. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
Amen Keebler, I hear you. I do supplement with fish oil. I ultimately will start adding stuff back in. I don't know if I have been having food allergies, fry buy, too acidic body (I ate a ton of protien) or what has been going on with me.
All I know is that the diet has been making me feel better...for now. Hadlyme is also on the diet and she needs to eat meat a couple of days a week. Nefferdun is also on the diet and said that meat causes her body to produce ammonia.
We are all different here, there is no magic bullet for any of us, what works for one may not work for another. I'm just sharing what is going on with me Posts: 845 | From Northeast | Registered: May 2011
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Diet has made me feel better too, and you can herx on the 'healthy diet' at first. FL1953 way of eating is low fat grams and some patients are herxing on just eating differently with the low fat.
I do eat a bit of meat/protien, lean grass fed beef as RC1 stated, and I give myself B12 shots every few weeks, and then eat whole foods, no sugars.
If I go off it and eat a meal out and eat whatever, I will feel icky for a day or two!
And yes, we are all different in how we react to our diseases and to treatments.
One size does not fit all.
I do feel that the 'further' we get into all these vector borne diseases, that we will find that foods will be a big trigger for how we treat and feel. For me, cutting out all oils has been a boost to my health. I never did eat a lot of them so it wasn't hard for me.
For every one dr. that says you have to have fat/oils,then there's another dr. or so, that are saying to stay away from them.
Find what 'shoe' fits for your body and mind.
-------------------- Lyme, Babs, Fry Bug..... Whatever it is, may a treatment be discovered to make us all whole again! Posts: 941 | From AZ-MT | Registered: Oct 2004
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- "Find what 'shoe' fits for your body and mind." (end quote)
Good point. Also realize that "shoe" size and style preference or need can change from time to time.
Once we get clean from processed foods with additives, we can start to listen to what our body is telling us it needs. That comes from a very different place from what normally drives food decisions. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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